A girl and her Splatling
by Neospector
Summary: A story based off a comment made on Reddit concerning a short comic about Splatoon. A girl who has been given everything. A boy who has almost nothing. A gatling gun. A bucket. Might there be...love? Original comment can be found here: /r/splatoon/comments/3ghtzn/a girl and her splatling/ctyfukt?context 3
1. Chapter 1

**Splatoon and all related characters and equipment are owned by Nintendo. My creations are only those of original characters (OC). Any resemblance to a real person, living or dead, is unintentional, but would be pretty freaking sweet if it happened.**

* * *

"Happy birthday, sweety!"

"Happy birthday, dear!"

"Thanks, mom!"

"Thank you, mother, thank you father.

Yutaka smiled happily. So did Sorui. This is the story of two inklings; they have not met, they are not friends, and their only thing in common might be their race. The only thing in common, period.

Sorui glaced out his bedroom window. Bluefin Depot can get foggy at night, and in the morning there's often days where the fog doesn't burn off all at once, leaving a grey blanket resting over the old railway. Sorui and his mother had been blessed with a house with a view. And Sorui himself had been blessed with a mother who cared for him deeply. Sure, she worked long hours, and yes, Sorui was often alone in the house, which was dilapidated with age, but not run-down. But Sorui liked it; the fog was calming, in a certain way. The way the sea left a moisture on the streets just enough so that the occasional weed grew near the side of the road, but nothing ever broke the center of the cobblestone path, the way the house felt cool and nostalgic rather than broken and dim, the way the sound of the waves broke the silence to rock any young one to sleep, Sorui liked it.

It was his birthday. He was 15. All Inklings have a full humanoid form at 14, and most take advantage of that opportunity to join the most popular of passtimes: turf wars. Sorui didn't. He wanted to, but he didn't feel it was right to ask his mom for a blaster when the money could be used to do other things. Sorui's mother, too, was very blessed.

"I have a gift for you." She said.

"You do?" Sorui smiled. Sorui loved getting gifts. Usually because that meant he got to give something in return. Indeed, his mother was truly blessed.

"You remember, right? There were some rule changes they made to the turf wars a short time ago?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I got you...this!" She pulled a large, purple object from behind her back, with a small red ribbon on the top.

"A bucket?" Sorui looked at it with curiosity.

"A Slosher," his mother corrected. "it recently became legal to use these in a battle."

"A Slosher..." Sorui repeated, taking the purple plastic in his arms. He hugged it tightly.

"A Slosher!" He exclaimed. "A Slosher! A Slosher! Then...this means...?"

"Sweety, you should be having fun. The other kids your age have already had a year's worth of practice! Just...promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Don't worry about wins and losses, have fun with it."

The green-colored Inkling, in a plain anchor-tee and a pair of white shoes, hugged his very blessed mother.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, mom! I love you."

* * *

"A Splatling! A Splatling!" Yutaka exclaimed. "It's a Splatling!"

"Of course, dear. They recently beca..."

"Recently became legal! Yes, yes!" The cyan-colored Inkling hugged the gun's barrel tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Anything for you, dear. There's cake waiting for you downstairs." And with that, her parents closed the door.

Yutaka hugged her new weapon tightly for a long while. When she had her fill, she smiled as she looked out the window. Golden sunlight poured through the glass. The highway near Moray Towers was already filled with cars heading off to work in one direction or another. Yutaka drew the curtains. She walked over to her closet, and opened the door. She arbitrarily went with a more casual Tricolor Rugby shirt with some Squid-stich Slip-ons and to compliment the whole ensemble, a squid hairclip, which she fastened on her left-side tentacle.

"Today is going to be a great day!" She thought, as she rummaged through her things. Her elbow knocked something hard; she grasped the handle of her old Krak-on Roller. She remembered running through her first turf wars with the giant thing; the first time she tried it, she fell over backwards after trying to life it over her head. Luckily that had just been a practice battle with her friends, it would have been embarrasing to make such a scrub mistake in a real battle.

"I wont be needing this any more." She murmured. "I wonder if the store might take it back, give it to someone else who can use it..."

"Yutaka, dear! Cake!"

"Coming mother!"

She hefted her new weapon and walked to her door.

Today was going to be a great day.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorui smiled. Today was going to be a great day. He could feel it. A Slosher, could you believe it? A real turf war weapon, and it was his.

He had spent the first part of his day celebrating his birthday with his mother. Tonight, whether he won or lost in his battles, he would be eating his favorite dish, and he was going to enjoy it. The train rattled to a stop, and Sorui began the elegant dance of trying to get off without his new weapon being smushed. Once clear of the crowd of people, he darted off to have a look at everything. The plaza was chock-full of Inklings, each with their own fashion sense and battle style. Over here, an Inkling who preferred sniping was arguing with one who preferred the front-lines over something that sounded like where they ought to eat lunch. Over there, a group of fighters were talking stage-rotation over milkshakes. Another group was inscescently giggling about something Sorui didn't know about.

He was so caught up in his senses that he failed to notice the large rock directly in his path, and, with a small squeak, he fell flat on his face, still clutching his Slosher. The giggling intensified, and Sorui quickly snapped back up, face red with embarrasment. He glanced around to get his bearings, then hurried towards the green tower with a gigantic, electrified Zapfish wrapped around it. This was the lobby. This was it. He was ready for this.

Yutaka was ready. She had been patiently waiting at the dump of a map for quite some time now. Bluefin Depot; usually she avoided battling on this map, but the only other one available was Camp Triggerfish. Weighing her options, she decided an old railroad was better than getting stung by wasps, or bitten by spiders, or whatever else there was at the camp.

She tapped her foot and leaned on her Splatling. She glanced around her; 6 other Inklings, ready to do battle. A roller, two chargers, an Inkbrush, an N-Zap, and a Dual Squelcher.

"Could be worse." She thought.

There was a bubbling sound of someone entering through the spawn pipe. Two large eyes peaked out of the ink.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere." She announced loudly. "Come on, let's hurry up and..."

She stopped.

The other six stared.

She stared.

He clenched his weapon's handle, and smiled.

"Hi! I'm Sorui. Nice to me..."

"A bucket."

"What?"

"A bucket." Yutaka repeated, and then grinned.

"A bucket! It's a bucket!" Laughter began to fill the air.

"Huh?" Sorui said, confused. "N-no, it's a Slosh-"

"It's a bucket!"

Yutaka heaved over laughing. The others did the same. Sorui felt a bit hurt. Sure, the Slosher might look like a bucket, but it's a perfectly legal...

"Look at his clothes!"

"H-Huh?" This caught Sorui off guard.

"His clothes! They're so bad!"

Sorui tugged at his shirt. "M-my mom gave-"

"Torn clothes, and a bucket for a weapon! That's hilarious!"

Sorui was visibly upset now. He didn't have any fancy clothes like those pilot goggles, although he thought they looked cool, but that didn't-

"You have got to be kidding me, how much of a scrub are you?"

Sorui stared at the source of the voice. She was a very pretty girl, about his age. Cyan tentacles, violet eyes, and standing on a very heavy-looking Splatling gun. He couldn't stop staring at her teeth, not so much because they were beautiful, but more because she was keeled over in laughter, and it was hard not to look at them. They looked very sharp.

"I bet those things only have one sub stat! No, no, not even that, just the main stat even! Do they even have that?"

"Those clothes look like you pulled them from a dumpster! ...you didn't, did you?"

"A bucket! HA!"

Sorui felt a tear drip down his face as the others laughed. The sound was hurtful, like waves of black ink battering him from every side. He wiped it and hoped no one noticed.

"A bucket!" The cyan-colored beauty sputtered out between giggles. "He brought a bucket!" She laughed some more and leaned on the Splatling she was carrying. It had only cost her parents 12,000 coins. Only.

Sorui tried to keep his spirits up by gazing down. His reflection stared back at him; a torn anchor-tee, a pair of plain white shoes, one of which was too big while the other was too small. He had no hat to his name.

"A bucket!" She exclaimed.

Sorui took a step back. Then another. Then he ran. Their laughter echoed off the depot near his home. Tears fell and dripped through the grate, into the empty sea below.

Yutaka slowly drew out of her laughing fit and turned to the 6 others. "We're down one!" She announced. "My team will go three, you guys go four. I could do with the extra challenge. We'll be cyan, you guys be orange."

She hefted her beloved weapon and hugged it in her arms lovingly as she walked to her team's area.

"What a scrub," she thought. "I can't believe he brought a bucket!"

She giggled once more at the thought. "How'd he even get into the tower lobby? That kid should take the hint and get a real weapon next time. Like Mr. Splatty here."

"I just don't understand how he thought he could get away with such a scrub weapon. I just don't understand it."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorui choked down a sob. He didn't understand why they were so cruel. I-it was a perfectly legal weapon, right?

But...it was a bucket.

A tear dripped down his face and landed in his bucket. No one had ever really been that mean to him before. Although, he never did have friends his age.

Is this what they're like?

The sounds of ink being fired alerted him to the battle. Sorui had crouched behind a wall near the depot. So close to his home, and yet, so far away. He wondered if he should go back to his mom. But his mom had worked so hard to get him the bucket...

"SLOSHER!" Sorui corrected himself loudly, then quickly covered his mouth with his hands. He paused, the sounds of battle went on behind him. He lowered his hands.

"I-it's...a Slosher." He whispered to himself. "Not a bucket."

"ARGH!"

Sorui jumped as orange ink flew past his hiding spot. He must be closer to the battlefield than he thought.

Timidly, he raised one hand, then another, then lifted his head over the wall. Sure enough, he was right behind the cyan-colored spawn point.

But...it didn't look right. Only the platform was cyan, the rest was surrounded by a gigantic puddle of bright, orange ink. Sorui stared, puzzled. A bubbling sound broke his trance.

With a high-pitched "EEP", he dove back behind the wall, pressed his ear to the bricks, and listened...

"Stupid worthless team...I know I can do this on my own, but they didn't need to up and abandon me!"

Sorui recognized the voice as the cyan Inkling. The one with the Splatling.

"RAAGH!"

The voice faded as it charged off.

Sorui paused...then his hands started to move. First, he grabbed his Slosher. He didn't know why he did it, but he began to creep around the wall. The girl's path had already been paved over, Sorui assumed it was by the Inkling with the roller that was over on the left.

He stepped over the orange ink, and onto the spawn. Concentrating, his green tentacles rippled into bright blue. He dove under to fill his ink tank. He hesistated before emerging; why was he doing this? They had been so mean to him. Especially the cyan girl. If anything he should have turned orange.

For a moment, he pictured dumping the cyan girl in orange ink. Repeatedly, in her smug face. If he had lips at the moment, he would have frowned. It didn't feel...right. It didn't feel like something he should do. He didn't understand it...

He emerged from the ink. Took a deep breath, and threw the ink in his Slosher.

The cyan ink flew in a large arc, and landed in a straight line.

"That felt good." He decided. He immersed himself in the ink, and emerged behind the Inkling with the roller. Sorui took a deep breath, and launched his ink twice in rapid succession.

The orange Inkling, who had been wearing a Camo Zip Hoodie and a pair of tinted sunglasses, let out a squeak of surprise before bursting.

"That felt good." He decided again. And began covering the area near the spawn.

The Inkling with the roller tried to enter the base 4 times. Each time, as he tried to climb the wall, Sorui threw his ink down on top of him.

Yutaka had noticed something was off the minute she spotted the roller Inkling on her left. Two shots on either side of her head snapped her back to the present, as she gazed at the two snipers, positioned on the ledges. Why was she so scared of two snipers?

Because if she tried to take one out, the other would take her out. That's why.

She growled. She charged her weapon, and leaped out from behind the wall, aiming at the Inkling on the right-hand ledge.

When the whistle sounded. She froze. Growled, raised, and lowered her weapon in frustration.

Judd the cat, a large, fluffy, bowtie-patterned cat, climbed his way down from the rusted tracks above them. Yutaka slumped in a puddle of cyan ink. She leaned on her Splatling, and sighed.

"Meow (What's wrong?)"

"Stupid team abandoned me...lost the match because of it."

"Mew (What do you mean?)"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I lost!"

"Purrr (You won the match. 51.7% to 48.3%)"

"Huh?"

"Mew (You should thank your teammate fur his purrr-fect performance)"

"Team...mate?"

The ink began to dissolve. Sorui wandered into view.

Yutaka stared at him.

Sorui stared back. His hair already rippled back to its natural green.

"Purrrr (Sorui! Fur a fur-st purrformance, that was paw-some!)"

Sorui turned his gaze from the girl and towards the cat.

"T-thank you?"

"Meow (Here is your prize)"

"P-prize?"

"Mew (700 coins for the turf you inked. 500 coins for winning.)"

Sorui sputtered. "Tw..twelve...hundred..."

"Purrr (1200 coins total.)" Judd finished for him.

Judd handed Sorui a small bag.

"Meow (Congratulations on your fur-st win!)"


	4. Chapter 4

Yutaka stared at him. She didn't know how to proceed. She barely noticed when Judd plopped a bag down beside her.

"Meow... (300 points inked. 500 points for winning...)"

Yutaka didn't pay attention.

"...bucket." She murmured.

"Mew (Hmm?)"

"IT'S A BUCKET!" She yelled. Sorui winced.

Yutaka scowled. "You...you SCRUB. I...I HAD THAT BATTLE and...and...you...you..."

She trailed off. The Inkling and cat stared. Sorui's gaze burrowed into her. She felt hot. So...she decided to run.

She hefted her Splatling in her arms. She almost lost her balance and fell over. Sorui held out a hand to catch her. She glared at him and ran.

It wasn't a fast run. Splatlings were, she thought as she tottered of, very heavy.

Sorui started after her, but Judd held up a paw.

"Mew (She looks like she wants to be alone.)"

"A-alright...I guess..."

* * *

Yutaka had been tottering for around 5 minutes near the depot. Around the one-minute mark she had transitioned from furious to sad, and around thirty seconds later she broke into a full out sob. She turned into an alley and slumped down. Her thoughts whirled.

A scrub...with a bucket.

On his first battle.

With a bucket.

And the only thing she had been useful for was delaying her eventual loss.

"I-it's not...it's not...f-fair." She sobbed.

"Dear? Are you alright?"

She glanced up into the eyes of an adult woman. She wore a plain, long, white dress that had no real discernable features. Her tentacles were green.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Yutaka's mouth opened and closed several times, trying to remember exactly how to make the sounds needed to speak.

She settled on crying instead.

"Oh! Oh...dear...here, come to my place, we'll get you some food."

Yutaka whimpered and stood up. She lugged her Splatling behind her.

* * *

Sorui sat down on the train home. His day had been good, he supposed. He won his first battle. That was good, right?

But he winced at the memory of the laughter he endured. He glanced down at his shirt. He had thought about replacing it, to stop people from laughing at him, but he decided that his money was better off being saved or something. And he probably didn't have enough for a good outfit anyway. Besides, it was his shirt.

So he bought himself lunch with his winnings and had that instead.

He wondered why he had done it. The girl had been so mean. He had asked Judd why they had been so cruel to him, but apparently the judge had been elsewhere before the battle.

"Where?" Sorui asked.

"Mew (Napping.)" Judd mewed.

Sorui's eyes fluttered as the train rocked back and forth.

"I don't know why I did it." He mused. "I think...if it happened again...I might...do it again."

* * *

Yutaka sat down at the table. It was a heavily scratched, wooden table. Very heavy, with just a small light hanging above it. Her Splatling was in the hall, which was probably a good thing, considering every step she took on the floor creaked, the floor would collapse if something that heavy landed on it. She looked around. It was an old house, but not run down. The nice woman, Shurui was her name, set down a small bowl of rice.

"Sorry, but that's all we have. The rest of the food is for my son. Today is his birthday, so I'm making his favorite."

Yutaka paused.

"I-it's my birthday too."

Shurui smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Well, happy birthday! I'm sure you'd like my son, if you met him."

Yutaka smiled weakly and started to eat the rice.

"So, about why you were crying...you have a weapon, I'm guessing you lost a turf war?"

Yutaka stiffened.

"Well, no...not...exactly..."

It was hard to force out the words. Putting it that way, she should be happy she won. But...

"I...thought I could do better myself. And then this..." She paused. Shurui had a smile on her face that warmed the whole room. She didn't exactly feel that she could call the scrub anything bad...

"...new kid..." She decided "won the battle by himself."

"Oh my...but, aren't teams made up of 4 people? Where were the other two?"

"They...jumped ship on us."

"Well, I hope Judd scolds them well for it. Drop their rankings." Shurui made a few weak punching motions in the air. "Turf wars are a team sport. Everyone plays together, and everyone has a good time."

Yutaka shrugged and glanced around. "You...live here with your son?"

"Yes. My husband passed away some time ago." Shurui sighed. "It's not much, but we're lucky to have something, right?"

Yutaka frowned. "Um...what was your son's name?"

"Oh! I never mentioned. My son's name is-"

"I'm home!" A voice sounded from the hall.

"Oh! He's here. Sorui! Welcome home!"


	5. Chapter 5

Yutaka froze.

Him.

This is...his..house.

Shurui had gone to greet her son in the hall. He couldn't see the kitchen...but her Splatling was left in the hall. Yutaka knew he could put two and two together and realize it was her.

"...she was crying, apparently she didn't do too well in a turf war herself. I think she's just being hard on herself..." Shurui blabbered on.

Yutaka hunched over to make herself look small. She blabbed about someone stealing her thunder to the mother of the person who stole her thunder. Who was now blabbing that same thing back to the person in question. Not only that, but this same person was one she had insulted, and pretty badly too. Yutaka turned beet red, then paled. She could feel Sorui enter the room and stare at her. She hunched down even lower.

...

"Well, I hope she feels better."

Huh?

"As long as she had fun, that's all that matters, right?"

What...what was he saying.

She had expected him to be angry. This...this was...

Yutaka sat, frozen and hunched, over her bowl of rice. She barely heard Shurui as she left.

"I have to go work my shift. Stay safe, Sorui! And Yutaka," The name hit her skin like acid. "don't be so hard on yourself! And make sure you get home safely! Bye!"

The door shut. There was silence.

Sorui broke it.

"Sorry." He said.

Sorry? Why's he saying sorry?

"I guess you wanted to do that on your own, I shouldn't have interfered..."

No...don't...tell me that...

"...I even overheard you swear you could do it. And I was just a newbie..."

Stop...

"...I guess it was...luck?"

"STOP!"

Yutaka hunched as low as she could go.

"YOU...you...you have nothing to be sorry for. I...I yelled, and...and...I..."

Her eyes began to water.

"I insulted you...and I called you names...and I laughed at you..."

Teardrops hit the wood of the table, silently.

"...why...are you...apologizing...I'm the one that needs to say...s-sorry."

She turned around. Sorui had backed against the wall with the outburst. He didn't know what to say...he had to think for a moment.

"N-no, really, it's ok. I know I don't have fancy clothes like you guys...they are pretty bad..."

"STOP IT, REALLY. I-it shouldn't matter what clothes you wear..."

"Really, it's fine. I mean, I could buy some more, but I don't really have enough to get something that good..."

"Huh?"

"My mom doesn't make that much. We get bye, but I don't spend that much on clothes anyway..."

"I...I..."

"But I never knew you earned money for battling in turf wars. I mean, if I had, I might have joined sooner..."

"Wha...wha..."

"...but wait, do you lose money if you lose? O-or get nothing? What if I kept losing? I mean, today was a total fluke..."

"N-NO!" Yutaka interrupted. "You get money. You get money whether you win or lose, it just changes the amount..."

"Oh!" Sorui's expression lightened. "That's great then! Then I can save up a little. Maybe, after a while, even if I lose, I can get a better outfit. That's great..." Sorui hummed a little and smiled.

Yutaka was agape. He didn't know anything about how turf wars worked at all. But he had managed to...

"Um...c-can I ask something?" Yutaka murmured.

"Sure?"

"Why did you help me? Since I had been so rude to you, I mean..."

"Um..." Sorui rubbed the side of his head. "I-I'm not...sure. I guess I just felt like I should."

Yutaka's eyes fell, and she felt her cheeks turn red. There was a tightening in her chest.

"So..." Sorui glanced around. "w-would you like to be friends? I'm Sorui Saigono."

Yutaka stood up abruptly. Her mouth opened and closed a few times to find the right words.

"Yu...Yutaka...Meisho" She finally said. And sat back down.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Yutaka broke it.

"S-so...your...birthday?"

"Ah-hah...did my mom tell you about that? Yeah, it's my birthday. My mom was going to get off work early and we were going to have a little party...that was my present, you know. The Slosher...I mean, the bucket."

Yutaka felt the words stab through her heart.

"My...too..." She mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"I said it's my birthday...too." She finished.

"O-oh. That's...funny. Heh. Happy birthday?"

The awkward silence returned.

"I...I guess I should be going."

The two walked around each other until Yutaka was at the door and Sorui was at the table.

"B-bye."

"Bye..."

She hefted her Splatling, and shut the door behind her.

Sorui paused to think. It was her birthday too, then? Maybe that's why it didn't feel right to join the opposite team.

"Maybe..." He wondered aloud.

He stuck his fingers in a bowl of rice that was sitting on the table and started to nibble at it.

"Maybe..."


	6. Chapter 6

Yutaka had run down the street, made it to the train, ridden it, and arrived back home. When she did, she had dropped her Splatling in her room, dashed into her bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror. She was a mess; her eyes were puffy and red, and the black markings around them only served to emphasize them. Her clothes had a bit of rice stuck to the coller. She picked it up with a finger and examined it.

She nibbled at it.

The word "bucket" drifted across her memory, and she winced. To review today, she had: 1) insulted someone on their birthday about their birthday present, 2) won her match only because of that person, and worst of all, 3) run to his house on accident while upset and told his mother everything.

And he had forgiven her.

And he had tried to apologize to her himself.

"Urgh...I really wish I hadn't said that."

She glanced at her Splatling. 12,000 coins worth of power that had done absolutely nothing compared to a kid and a bucket.

"Slosher." She corrected herself.

For a kid to win with a bucket-

"Slosher."

-it was unthinkable. How had he won? Did he cheat? No, Judd would have seen that. So how did he do it?

She paused.

"It would be incredibly embarrassing to see him again." She decided as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

And in the middle of the plaza the very next day, two Inklings stared at each other.

One was a cyan-colored girl carrying a large Splatling. She wore a Tricolor Rugby and Squid-Stitch Slip-ons with a squid hair clip on her left side.

The other was a green-colored boy carrying a Slosher. He wore a torn anchor-tee and a pair of white shoes that didn't quite fit right.

Sorui's stare was interrupted by a rather loud series of whispers from his right. He winced and clutched the handle of his Slosher tighter. It hurt now, but eventually he'd save up enough money to...

"...something." Yutaka burst into his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said i-it's ridiculous to have th-the person who helped me in such a scrub outfit!" She announced. She grabbed his hand and started to drag him to the shops. "I'm going to buy you something better."

Sorui didn't really resist as he was dragged along the walkway. He briefly wondered what the other people in the plaza were thinking about this, then wondered exactly what he should think of this, but gave a mental shrug and let himself be strung along.

Yutaka pulled him into the clothing store and parked him on the bench in front of the changing rooms. She stormed off into the racks of shirts and pulled out several shirts, throwing them in a pile on top of Sorui.

Sorui peeked at the tags.

"T-these are a bit outside my budget...and really, I'm fine with-"

"I'm buying them." She announced. "I'm buying them and you're going to wear them because I r-refuse to be helped by someone dressed like a scrub."

"Huh?"

"I-if you're wearing those then you're not a scrub. S-so therefore if you wear those, y-you weren't a scrub yesterday when you h-helped m-me w-win." She reasoned. "N-now try those on!"

"H-huh? O-okay..."

Sorui did as he was told. As he took his torn anchor-tee off he wondered exactly why the girl was doing this.

"She kind of has a point, the clothes make the Inkling..." He thought.

Still...

"She's kind of cute."

Sorui shook his head as he pulled on one of the outfits.

Nah.

"She wouldn't go for a guy like me."


	7. Chapter 7

Sorui had changed into the outfit he had been given, a layered Anchor LS, and stepped out.

Yutaka breathed a sigh of relief.

"There, no more scrub outfit."

"I really can't afford this..." Sorui muttered as he fumbled with the tag, which hung awkwardly off the shirts collar.

"I'm buying it. Now, that old shirt."

Sorui held up the tattered Anchor-tee.

"Let's get rid of it" Yutaka announced, as she grabbed the shirt and pulled.

Sorui pulled back.

"N-no!"

"Why not?" She pulled harder.

"B-because it's mine!"

"So are the new clothes. Come on!"

"It was a present!"

"Huh?"

"It was a prese-oof!"

Yutaka had let go of the shirt suddenly, leaving Sorui in a small heap by the changing room.

"Wha...I...urgh..." She knelt down and buried her face in her hands. "Sorry...sorry."

Sorui half-crawled over to where she was, but wasn't quite sure what to do. She just kept repeating "sorry" and rocking back and forth. Sorui decided and giving her a pat on the back.

"It's...ok. I'm not throwing away the shirt, though. If someone gives me a gift, I'll use it. It'd be rude not to."

Yutaka paused mid-sorry and glanced away from Sorui.

"T-then...those new clothes." She muttered.

"Huh?"

"T-those new clothes are m-my present to you. Y-you know. For y-your birthday. And...stuff." She peeked back at him. "S-so you better wear it, okay?"

Sorui smiled and Yutaka actively avoided his gaze.

"Okay." He said. "But that leaves your present."

"Huh?"

"We share the same birthday, right? I gotta get you something too."

"N-no, you don't need to..."

"Of course I do. I'm not sure what I can get you, though..." Sorui's eyes wandered around the store.

She didn't know why she said it, but Yutaka decided on a gift she wanted.

"Then...could you..."

"Hmm?"

"J...j..."

"Juh...?"

"Join a squad with me?" She finished.

Sorui blinked.

"Huh?"

"They're letting people join in squads of two now for the turf wars. They match you up with another squad for allies and you fight two other squads as opponents." She hid part of her face with her hand. "Your present to me...I want to be on a squad with you."

Sorui paused, and then smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to." The boy was beaming brighter than a searchlight, and it was aimed right at Yutaka. Yutaka turned away.

"You know..." Sorui continued. "I thought about it a little while, and I don't think I would want us to be on opposite teams. It doesn't feel right."

Yutaka gave a small nod, face still buried in her hands.

"Are you ok?"

She used one hand to make a weak thumbs-up.

"Okay, I guess I should take this off so we can buy it, then." He stood and walked back into the changing room.

Once the curtain was shut, Yutaka removed her hands from her now crimson-flushed face.

"I can't look him in the face at all..." She muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Sorui asked from behind the curtain.

Yutaka turned a deeper shade of red and sputtered out a "NOTHING."

It was going to be a long day today.


	8. Chapter 8

Some stared at the strange pair walking across the plaza. A girl with cyan tentacles, carrying a Splatling gun and a boy with green tentacles carrying a Slosher. Some giggled.

Sorui sighed. He had wondered if the clothes really mattered when people considered him a scrub. It might have been the Slosher entirely.

In reality, the giggling ones were more focused on the fact that even though the cyan girl kept facing down, her face was a bright shade of red, to the point where it almost illuminated her features.

The two walked into the lobby to register as a squad.

"W-we'll be cyan...ok?" Yutaka said as she filled the application.

"Sure." Sorui smiled.

Once the paperwork was completed, the two headed towards their first match, held at Walleye Warehouse.

"I wonder who we'll be paired up with..." Sorui mused.

"Hopefully someone who doesn't run out on us..." Yutaka muttered.

The two arrived at the warehouse to find a group of 6 others. 2 chargers, an Octobrush, a Carbon Roller, a Luna Blaster, and a Ranged Blaster. Two of them, one with a Kelp Splatterscope and one with a Luna Blaster, waved excessively.

"Hiiiii~" The girl with the Luna Blaster chirped.

"Yoooo~" The boy with the Kelp Splatterscope echoed in an equally annoying, albeit slightly deeper tone.

Sorui got out a slight wave and a "hello" before he was squished in a hug by the girl.

Yutaka was livid.

"Yooou..." Was all she got out before the girl let go of Sorui and squished her in an equally organ-squeezing grip. "Hugger..." She managed to squeak out.

The girl let go.

"We're your teammates~!" She chimed. "I'm Danwa~!"

"I'm Urusai~!" The boy cheeped.

"Welcome~!" They sang together.

The other 4 players had managed to escape to their side of the arena while they were talking.

"Y-Yutaka." Yutaka managed. "Sorui." She pointed.

Danwa clapped.

"It's so great to meet another two like us~!"

"Like...you?"

"Yeah~." Urusai grinned.

"A couple~!" Danwa sang.

Yutaka lost her grip on her Splatling for a minute. The base hit the ground with a large thump.

"Wha-wha-wha..." Her face turned as red as the tank on her weapon. "Wha-wha-wha-what d-di-di-did you saaaaay...?"

"It's such a fad~." Urusai spread his hands in a half-shrug. "Couples get together in a squad, that way they never have to fight on the battlefield~."

"I could never fight against my liddle-Uru-pie~!"

"And I couldn't fight my widdle dawn-dawn~!"

The two nuzzled. Yutaka wasn't sure whether to gag, blush, or shoot the two between the eyes. She favored the third option, but thought it might be bad for the battle afterwards.

"W-w-w-w-we're not a c-couple!" She stammered.

"You're not~?" Danwa put a finger in front of her mouth and pouted.

"Friends can be on a squad too~." Urusai patted her back.

"Oh well~!" Danwa sighed and glanced to the other side of the arena. "Looks like they're ready to start~! Let's hurry~!" The two skipped towards the team spawn. Yutaka briefly contemplated shooting herself with her Splatling.

"L-let's..." She paused, thinking about what the two annoying ones had said. She shook her head and tried to focus on the battle. "L-let's g-get to the spawn."

Sorui nodded and wandered aimlessly towards the spawn. He hadn't really been paying attention after the two mentioned couples, he had gotten himself lost, deep in his own thoughts.

"We're not a couple!" The words bounced around inside his head. He knew that it was true, but he hadn't really given it much thought before now. The clothes had just been a birthday present, she probably had a lot of friends she bought things for.

Sorui was so deep in his thoughts he walked right over the spawn and into the boxes behind it. His face hit the sudden barrier with a small "squish".

"Dummy~! Come on, there's a battle starting~!"

"R-right..."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorui, Danwa, and Urusai rippled, and their tentacles turn cyan.

"We're an offensive team~!" She chirped. "We can handle the baddies if they start coming towards us~!"

Yutaka nodded. The whistle sounded, and backround music began playing. The match commenced.

Danwa and Urusai quickly rushed forward, and Urusai took the platform on top of the crate nearest the spawn. Danwa handled the platforms leading down to the center area.

"Let's go!" Yutaka snapped, and began rushing off down the pathway on the right.

Sorui was a bit dazed. It was really his first ever actual match, since he had started late on his actual first one.

"Sorui~!"

Urusai's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Take the path on the left, we need someone to cover turf~."

"R-right."

The path on the left led around a large wall, and it mirrored the path on the other side. Sorui threw ink towards the path and the center area came into view.

It was hard to tell what was going on; Danwa was loudly humming to the background music while firing off shot after shot. She never once looked behind her, and if someone tried to sneak up on her they were quickly picked off by Urusai. Yutaka was shooting anyone who tried to approach from the opposite side of the room.

Sorui looked down, the ground was covered completely with orange ink. The Inkling with the Octobrush stood looking proud of his work. Sorui emptied the contents of his Slosher on him through the grate. With an annoyed grunt, there was now a splotch of cyan among the orange.

Sorui slipped through the grate and landed in the splotch. He quickly began covering the area while hiding behind the large crate that sat midway between the side area and the center area. He slipped towards the ramp that led to the enemy spawn.

The Inkling with the Carbon Roller was charging through, followed closely by the one with the Ranged Blaster. Sorui threw his ink at the two in rapid succession, resulting in the two of them bursting in simultaneous squeaks.

Sorui then turned his attention to the center area. Danwa had positioned herself in front of the center crates while Urusai had moved to the left-center highpoint. Sorui swam behind the crates towards Yutaka.

"Hi" He peeped.

Yutaka let out an annoyed grunt. "You should be on the other side, covering th-LOOK OUT!"

Sorui pulled into his ink, then swam in a half-circle behind himself to find the enemy's charger, an E-Liter 3K. His maneuver made it possible for Yutaka to fire a half-charged round right into them.

"Geeze, you need to be more careful. We're battling now, no room for slip-ups."

Sorui gulped and nodded, but quickly pulled past Yutaka and threw his Slosher upward through the grate. The Ranged Blaster Inkling burst. Sorui grinned at Yutaka.

"Don't get cocky." She frowned. "This isn't the same as that time-"

"KRAKEN~!"

Her speech was interrupted by Urusai's shout. Lo and behold, the Octobrush user had actived the Kraken special. Urusai had abandoned his platform down the other side, while Danwa panicked and swam towards the left side area. The kraken, however, had a different target in mind, as it swam right towards Sorui and Yutaka.

The two dove to their sides and Yutaka landed in front of a large stack of crates.

The Inkling using the special, however, was actually fairly new to the kraken special, and he slammed into the wall full-force. The stack of crates began to shake.

The kraken was dazed, but turned itself around and rammed full-force into a second wall before popping back into humanoid form with a dizzy expression on his face. The crates swayed and creaked.

"Look out!" Sorui ran at Yutaka and with all his might he pushed her to the ground. Right as the large section of crates tumbled...right on top of him.

A loud whistle sounded and the background music cut off abruptly. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound.

S...Sorui?"


	10. Chapter 10

"S...Sorui?" Yutaka stared, her whole body shaking, at the pile of boxes that had fallen on top of her friend.

"Sorui!" She ran and lept onto the pile, furiously lifting boxes both full and empty.

"He-hey, wait...if he got splatted he should just respawn, right~?" Urusai walked out to the center area and gazed towards the spawn point.

"T-that's right~!" Danwa chimed in. "He'll respawn any minute now~!"

"Any minute now~." Urusai repeated. Judd hopped down from his perch near the conveyor belt.

"Judd?"

"Mew (Yes?)"

"Why isn't he respawning?"

"..."

Yutaka kept shouting for Sorui as the ink evaporated around them, except for a small, cyan puddle that was halfway underneath the pile of crates.

Danwa put her hands over her mouth. The Inkling with the Octobrush paled and wore a look of panic on his face.

"J-Judd? Why isn't he respawning?" Urusai pressed.

The cat had positioned himself by the pile and squatted near the remaining bit of ink. He reached a paw in and pulled.

There was a quick squeak followed by a "pop" noise as Judd toppled over, having yanked out a slightly squished, but still very much alive, cyan squid. The squid morphed into an Inkling mid-air and landed flat on his face with an "oof".

"S-Sorui?"

"Oww..." Sorui rubbed his face as he sat up. "That hurt..."

"SORUI!"

Yutaka lept off the pile and tackled Sorui to the ground again.

"SORUI! SORUI!" She grasped him in hug like a vice.

""Urf...squeezing..." Sorui squeaked, but Yutaka just hugged tighter while making a sound that was a cross between a sigh, a hum, and a giggle.

"Aweso-" Danwa began, but Urusai clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Let's...ah..." Urusai hesitated over the words. "Give the two a little privacy~."

The others nodded and made their way towards the exit. The Octobrush user shook the whole way, but otherwise had a look on his face that could only be described as "relief".

* * *

For a while, neither of the two made a sound. Sorui piped up.

"Um...Yutaka?"

Yutaka loosened her grip.

"I-I thought you died..." She said through teary eyes. "D-don't do that! Never do that to me again?"

"Save you?"

"No! Yes! J-just..." She hesitated. "J-just don't make me worry like that again."

"I'm fine, don't worry." Sorui glanced down. "Ah...my shirt."

"Huh?"

"It got torn when I popped out." He frowned. "That was your present, right? I'm sorry, Yutaka."

Yutaka's mind blanked.

"I mean, you picked that out especially for me..."

She leaned closer.

"I can't believe it got ruined so quickly. I'm so sor-MMPH!"

Sorui's speech was interrupted and his mouth was covered. He tried to figure out what was happening. Something was pressing against his mouth, something warm and a little soft...

His thoughts finally clicked together. Yutaka was kissing him. She had leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Yutaka was kissing him.

She pulled away after a second. Nobody said a word.

"Um..." Sorui started.

What Yutaka did finally clicked in her mind. She stood up abruptly, turned to the exit, and ran full-speed with her hands covering her face. The complete the ensemble, she let out an embarrased "waah" as she ran.

"Um..." Sorui repeated dumbly. "Um..."


	11. Chapter 11

"Calm down, buddy, it's not your fault~." Urusai patted the Octobrush user sympathetically. "The kraken is hard for newbies to control~. You need practice, that's all~."

The Inkling just buried his face in his hands.

"Look on the bright side~!" Danwa chimed in. "No one was hurt~! That's a good thing~!"

"Yeah, and those two are cute together~. Who knows, maybe they'll-WOAH~!"

He was interrupted by a familiar cyan-colored girl rushing past him. She was yelling into the palms of her hands.

"U-um! Yutaka! Wait! Your Splatling!" Came a voice from behind, accompanied by a series of grunts and the sound of metal being dragged on the floor.

Sorui lugged the Splatling towards the group. He almost fell over as he approached, but was steadied by Danwa and the E-Liter Inkling.

"Sorui~! What happened in there~?"

"Um...well...after you guys left..."

"Yeah~..."

"Yutaka told me off for making her worry..."

"Yeah~..."

"Then I noticed my shirt was torn- it was a birthday gift from her you know. Got it today." He gestured towards the now torn Layered Anchor he was wearing.

"Huh~."

"And I apologized for tearing it, and then..."

"Then~?"

"She kissed me."

"Oh~...OH~!"

"Do...do you guys know why she did that?"

Danwa took this opportunity to slap Sorui on the back of the head.

"Those boxes better not have given you brain damage~! There's only one explanation why she did that- one reason why anyone would do that~!"

"U-um, huh?"

"Love, stupid~!"

"Love. LOVE?!" Sorui blushed a deep crimson. "No! No, no, no...that can't be right...I-I mean...love? No."

"Well why else would she kiss you~?"

"U-um..."

"It's love~."

"B-but...why would..." Sorui stammered. "She...she wouldn't go for a guy like me."

Urusai's eyes narrowed. "What, exactly, is a 'guy like you'~?"

"We-well, I mean...I'm...well...for one, my family doesn't have much money..."

"Why would that matter~?"

"Huh?"

"Haven't you ever heard the story of 'Cinderella'~?"

"Wha?"

"The prince fell in love with Cinderella despite her social status~. Love doesn't look at things like riches or families, love is blind~." Urusai stared at the dumbfounded boy. "So, give me one good reason why she absolutely can't be in love with you~."

"..."

Urusai heaved a sigh. "I thought not~. Now, for the other party in this matter~."

He motioned to the others to huddle up. They did so.

"Ok~! Operation 'Kissing Fish' is a go~." He half-chuckled at the name he invented on the spot. "We'll search all of Inkopolis for Yutaka so she and Sorui can talk it out~! Everyone ready~?"

The others nodded.

"Then you, with the Ranged Blaster, help Sorui with the Splatling and let's go~!"

The Inkling did as they were told and hefted the heavy gun. The group ran, or rather walked as quickly as they could while carrying the giant weapon. How one girl carried that by herself and still managed to run fast was astonishing. They started off in the direction of the main plaza.

"So Sorui~..." Urusai started.

"Yes?"

"You realize now that I'm going to call you 'Cinderella', from now on~."

"Hey!"

"Maybe a more masculine name, 'Cinder'~? And Yutaka is 'Princess Charming'~!"

"Sh-shut up..."


	12. Chapter 12

"Geez, where could she be~?"

Danwa bent down and hung her head.

"Don't give up~!" Urusai commented. "She's gotta be here somewhere~!"

"But we've looked everywhere~!" She counted off her fingers. "Spyke's alley, Booyah Base, the Squid Sisters studio..."

"What about Octo Valley~?"

She gave him a look. "Do you really think she went to Octo Valley~?"

"Er..."

"I thought not~." She sighed. "Uru, I'm tired and hungry and I don't know where she is~. Sorui, I'm sorry~."

"It's ok..." Sorui smiled, but it wasn't as bright as usual.

Danwa gave an equally weak smile back. "We'll find her~. She can't just up and disappear~! If she's not in the plaza today, she'll be here tomorrow, and if she's not, we can ask Judd for her address or something..."

"Yeah..."

Her stomach rumbled and she clutched at it. "I'm hungry~. Let's at least take a lunch break before we start looking again~. The cafe by the tower is always good~. It wont do any good to investigate on an empty stomach~!"

The others nodded their approval.

"Sorui, you coming~?"

"...in a minute, I'll catch up to you."

Danwa patted him on the shoulder once and the six set off for the small cafe.

Sorui dragged Yutaka's Splatling with him and leaned against a wall. He sighed and examined the back of his hand. Then he touched his lips. He thought back to that moment in the warehouse.

"It's love." One thought that kept echoing back and forth in his head.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small sniffle. He peaked around the corner of the wall he was leaning on, where he saw a girl crying to herself. He paused for a minute, then spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

The girl flinched, but didn't look up. There was a long silence.

She finally broke it. "I just embarrased myself in front of the boy I like. I-I can't possibly face him now. He probably hates me."

"Why would he hate you?"

"B-because!" She stuttered. "I-I've been so rude to him before. I was a jerk! And I forced him to b-be on a squad and I called him names and...and...I ruined everything!"

Sorui paused, then hefted the Splatling, and sat down beside her. He sighed.

"You know...you did this same thing before."

The girl sniffed.

"H-huh?"

"You were outshone. You cried. And you ran. And you wound up in someone's house, and you told the woman who owned that house." He closed his eyes as he recounted. "Except that the woman you told turned out to be the mother of the person who outshone you."

The girl flinched.

"Yutaka..."

Yutaka lifted her head.

"S...Sorui?" She buried her face in her hands again. "Urgh...I-I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry for what?"

"F-for...THAT!" She gestured around and stared teary-eyed at the boy. "That...in the warehouse!"

Sorui raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"I'm no good! I'm mean and selfish and...and..." She rested her head on her arms. "You...wouldn't go for someone like me..." She murmurred.

Sorui paused.

"I don't think you get it."

"Huh?"

"Yutaka...look at me."

She raised her head and immediately when she did, Sorui pressed his lips against hers.

He pulled back.

"I wouldn't go for a girl like you? What about you going for a guy like me? I think that proves people do crazy things." He grinned. Yutaka sat stunned. "Yutaka...our first meeting was terrible." He crossed his arms and made an obviously fake pout. "You insulted me, you insulted my birthday present, and you insulted my clothes." He uncrossed his arms.

"Despite that...Yutaka..." He opened his eyes. "I love you, Yutaka."

Yutaka froze, then whimpered, then grabbed Sorui by his shoulders.

"I do too!" She announced, sobbing. "I love...love you! Sorui! I'm sorry for being a jerk! I'm sorry for everything!"

"I don't forgive you."

"Wh-wha?"

"Unless..."

"U-unless?"

"Unless you promise me that you'll never make me worry like this again."

Yutaka giggled.

"I can handle that." She said, and nuzzled closer.

* * *

Six Inklings sat at a table inside a cafe. Two more Inklings walked in the door, holding hands as they did. The girl held a Splatling gun in her free hand. One of the ones at the table waved excessively.

"Sorui~!" Danwa chirped. "You found her~!"

"And by the looks of it..." Urusai grinned. "Things worked out for our little Cinder and his Princess Charming~."

Yutaka blushed profusely.

"Wha-wha?"

"I'm kidding~! Come on, sit down~."

The two did as they were told.

"So I suppose you guys are the same as us now~."

"Y-yeah, I suppose we are..."

"Well, as long as you two don't let it mess with your ability to battle~! Right, Uru-pai~?"

"Of course dawn-dawn~." Urusai's gaze drifted. "By the way..."

He grabbed the Octobrush user and pulled him closer.

"This one has been apologizing constantly for wrecking the battle~. To me, to Judd, to everyone, frankly it's been a pain in the neck to listen to it all the time~. Speaking of the battle, Judd declared it a draw. Here's your share for inking the turf~."

Urusai pulled out two small bags. "400 coins for Sorui and 300 for Yutaka~."

Sorui smiled. "Great, I can save up money and buy Yutaka a real birthday present."

Yutaka crossed her arms. "No." She stated.

"No?"

"No." She uncrossed her arms. "Your present to me was being on the squad...n-no, actually, it's not that..."

She paused. "Your present to me...rather than being on a squad...I want you to be by my side, forever."

Sorui grinned.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The two stared into each other's eyes.

"I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment..." Danwa broke in. "But Sorui, what happened to your weapon~?"

Sorui jumped in his seat. "My Slosher! Oh!" He frowned. "It...er...I dropped it when I pushed Yutaka...it probably got smooshed under all the boxes..."

"That's terrible~!"

Sorui nodded, disheartened. "But...I got Yutaka's weapon, at least. I can just take a break from turf wars. I already waited a year, right?"

"That wont do." Yutaka announced. "I can't have my b...my bo..." She struggled with the word. "My...boy...friend without a weapon. That wont do at all."

"She's right~!" Danwa said. "And no friend of ours is going weaponless either~!"

"Then after lunch, we'll head over to Ammo Knights~." Urusai chimed in. "We'll get Sorui a brand new weapon~! What should we get you~? A Splattershot~? Maybe a Splatterscope~?"

"A Slosher." Sorui said. "I'm fine with- no, not just 'fine', I want a new Slosher. Sloshers are my weapon."

He smiled at Yutaka. She smiled back.

"A Slosher." She repeated, and proceeded to nuzzle her boyfriend. "A Slosher."


	13. Ending notes

**Thank you for reading "A Girl and her Splatling". This has been my first ever fanfiction and, spelling errors aside, I'm very proud of it.**

 **A couple of things:**

 *** All the names, aside from Judd and location names, were generated with Google Translate.**

 **I'm serious! English to Japanese on words I thought that fit. Check it:**

 **Sorui = algae**

 **Yutaka = rich**

 **Shurui = nice**

 **Saigono = last**

 **Meisho = name**

 **Danwa = talk/discourse**

 **Urusai = loud**

 **I know, aren't I clever? They're obviously not exact translations, but they did come from Google Translate.**

 *** The main problem I had was determining how long the story should go on. At first, I had Yutaka in love with Sorui by the 5th chapter. Then I thought about making it so that Sorui would become a turf war champion before she fell for him. I wound up going with it in their second battle because I had a thought about how a kraken might ram into the walls at Walleye and make everything come tumbling down. At first, I thought about making him do it on purpose, then I thought that it being an accident would work better.**

 *** My favorite character archetype is the "shy girl" character type. Granted, male characters can pull it off too (Girls Bravo anime, but _not_ the manga, does so very well), but the "shy girl" characters are my favorite. Sumino Hikage of "Koko Ni Iru Yo" and Nodoka Miyazaki of Negima**

 *** I cannot SFX well.**

 *** This story was based entirely on a Reddit post in the /r/Splatoon subreddit. /u/CSLucaris drew a series of images on Tumblr of a cyan Inkling getting a Splatling as a present:**

 **cslucaris. tumblr. com** **/post/126343770159/134-a-girl-and-her-splattling-i-had-to-make-a**

 **Remove the spaces**

 **/u/** **PuffSmackDown2 wrote the following:**

 **"Clearly a girl in a well-off and functional family and was spoiled rotten with the latest and freshest expensive weaponry and outfits money can buy to show off to her friends in Turf Wars. Just look at her: she has a 3-star shirt and she actually sleeps in her own room, probably nearby Moray Towers.**

 **Meanwhile, in another significantly less affluent apartment complex outside of Bluefin Depot, there is a lone worn-out squid boy, whose parents struggled to barely survive, was given a measly bucket, which costed his parents the savings they've been putting aside for over a year. His parents did all they could, as they just wanted to see him happy and having fun with his friends, instead of thinking of the poor conditions they reside in.**

 **However, all the other squid kids pick on him at Turf Wars for showing up in rags with a terrible excuse of a weapon. Especially that girl with the brand new Heavy Splatling. Oh, if only she understands."**

 **/u/Daitenshi replied with:**

 **"Love story in the making."**

 **/u/ReleaseTheBogus replied with:**

 **"Still a better love story than that one with the sparkly octoling"**

 **And I responded with what was the first draft of the story, which is still present in the story in chapter 2. I had never intended it to be as long as it is, or to ever really go past that first draft, but it got my creative juices flowing, and once I have momentum, I don't like to stop because I'm afraid I'll lose it.**

 **I feel like I did well. Obviously I made some mistakes, but I feel I did well. A part of me wonders if I should have continued it, or ended it another way, but I know I shouldn't do either. Stories don't really end, do they? They continue. That's why I picked up reading fanfiction in the first place long before Splatoon had even been announced, maybe even conceived of. A part of me wants to see headcanons play out when actually written down. A part of me wants to see the characters of a non-romance actually have romance. A part of me wants to extend the universes that have already ended officially, or see what happens if two universes cross. Even if _I_ have nothing left to say, their universe isn't gone, it just means that a story has been told, and now it's not being told. Really, I just wrote down what popped into my head. All I really hope for is that it was good.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


End file.
